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The article reports that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Ad­ministration (PHMSA) of the U.S. plans to inform the U.S. Congress that it would be feasible for the hazardous materialsindustry to maintain electronic shipping documents.

The article mentions that the U.S. superfund law has excluded petroleum and benzene, released from gasoline, from the list of hazardous substances. It states that the U.S. District Court has dismissed the declaratory relief claims filed by the White Plains Housing Authority against Getty Properties Corp. and the court mentions that migration of benzene in soil after a gas spill, does not release hazardous substances.

The article informs that South Korea's Chemical Substance Evaluation Committee has released first batch of chemicals to be registered under its "K-REACH" law including 97 carcinogenic and other hazardous substances.

The article announces the October 2, 2013 promulgation of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's final rule that limits the authority of inspectors to open packages containing a perishable hazardous material during inspection. The final rule requires the opening of a package only after using appropriate alternatives. It highlights the need to use safety and handling equipment when conducting any enhanced regulatory action.

The article focuses on the preparation of the European Union (EU) to build on the registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemical substances (REACH) law and related legislation to address concerns about chemicals in three areas considered to be insufficiently regulated. The areas include the toxicity of chemical mixtures, nanosubstances, and endocrine disruptors. A call for stricter regulation was contained in a European Parliament resolution.

The article reports on the proposed rule from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requiring companies that store and use hazardous chemicals for more detailed storage information and facility contacts in reports filed with emergency planning agencies. It states that EPA's additional reporting requirements aim to make the forms more useful for state and local agencies. Furthermore, the proposed rule would better inform the public on chemical hazards in their communities.

The article focuses on the rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which reexamines solid waste rule definition. It says that the rule was received by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It tells that the exclusion of hazardous secondary materials from the definition of solid waste would result to the removal of several materials from the rule. Attorney Abigail Dillen doubts the EPA rule defining non-hazardous secondary materials as burned solid waste.

The article reports on the proposed changes in U.S. hazardous materials regulations to align with international rules. Included in the modifications are testing requirements for explosives and the rules regarding the transport of metal hydride storage systems. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) propose testing for packages with explosives contents, markings for mass packagings, and adoption of standards from the UN Model Regulations.

The article reports on the impact of the proposed regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for coal combustion byproducts under the Subtitle C special waste of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act on small businesses and coal ash recycling. It says that the designation of coal ash as a hazardous material will impact the perceived risk. However, the proposed rules to classify ash as non-hazardous waste under the Subtitle D gained supports from the House subcommittee.

The article reports that 106 members of the U.S. Congress have sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on August 2, 2010 urging the EPA to consider the economic impact of the proposed rules on toxicity of large boilers and process heaters. It says that the proposed standards on hazardous pollutant emission could diminish manufacturing jobs. It states that the members seek EPA to set a health-based standard for air toxic emissions.

The article offers information on the final rule on hazardous materials pulled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 15, 2010. It says that the rule excludes certain hazardous secondary materials from the definition of solid waste under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act which allows companies to burn their fuels. EPA mentions that the agency believed some compounds such as benzene and acrolein within the waste materials would be burned.

The article reports that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed collection of raw facility-level data on releases of toxic chemicals in 2008 under its Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program. Although EPA spokesperson Skip Anderson said that EPA does not have specific date to release the 2008 TRI National Analysis, EPA website noted that TRI data will be produced in December 2009. OMB Watch analyst Brian Turnbaugh acknowledged EPA's effort to produce TRI data earlier than before.

The article reports on the decision of Developmental Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee against adding bisphenol A (BPA) to the list of chemicals that may cause reproductive and developmental hazards in the U.S. The scientific advisory panel is part of the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. The committee decided to vote against adding BAP to the listing under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxics Enforcement Act of 1986 or the Proposition 65.

The article reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated a final rule that exempts poultry farms and other concentrated animal feeding operations from reporting ammonia and other air emissions related to animal waste. The rule will enable response authorities to better focus their attention of hazardous substance release that require a response and reduce burdens on America's farms.

The article reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denies the petition of environmental groups in the U.S. on November 21, 2008. The petition asks the EPA to reconsider a final rule which excludes oil-bearing hazardous secondary materials to encourage the recycling of the materials and challenges the rule against oil-bearing waste materials. The rule was designed to help petroleum refineries to reduce waste and maximize the energy potential in oil.

The article reports that U.S. chemical manufacturers will be required by the government to find substitutes for chemicals which were deemed hazardous in the European Union. The move is based on the September 20, 2008 report from the Environmental Defense Fund. It states that out of the 267 hazardous chemicals declared by the International Chemical Secretariat, 200 of those were on the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act inventory of chemicals which are made or imported in the U.S.

The article reports on the reaction of concerned groups to the proposal of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to increase the annual registration fees for large companies that transport hazardous materials. According to critics, the government agency should refrain from raising annual registration fees for these companies until it can better account for how the money is being spent.

The article reports that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration cannot initiate a covert testing program to ensure carrier compliance with hazardous materials rules without the permission of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the Department of Transportation (DOT). The testing was recommended in a report by the inspector general of the DOT.

The article reports on a final rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency amending final regulations to include the use of North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting. NAICS codes are economic classification systems used by the federal government to collect and organize industry-related statistics. Under the final rule, facilities will be required to report NAICS codes beginning with TRI forms due July 1, 2007.

Reports on the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to allow some potentially responsible parties (PRP) that voluntarily clean up hazardous substances to pursue a cost recovery action against other parties under Section 107 (a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act in connection to the case Consolidated Edison Co. versus UGI Utilities Inc. Significance of the decision of the Second Circuit; Conditions that should be met by a PRP to bring a Section 113 contribution action under the decision released by the Supreme Court in the case Cooper Industries versus Aviall.

Reports on the efforts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a proposal to require Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data to be reported every other year according to a letter sent by the agency to the Congress on September 21, 2005. Other efforts launched by the EPA to reduce the time, efforts and expense of complying with TRI; Benefits of developing a proposal that would require TRI reports every other year; Estimated amount of funds that will be saved by the agency during the nonreporting year.

Reports on the rules which identify the criteria and thresholds that trigger reporting requirements for several toxic substances approved by the Mexican Federal Regulatory Improvement Commission on January 7, 2005. Examples of industries affected by the rules; Launch of an electronic tracking system for hazardous waste generated by the maquiladora system; Reason for the shut down of the Haztraks database of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Reports on the removal of the phosmet pesticide from the hazardous chemicals list issued under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Advantage of the decision to facilities using and storing phosmet; Basis of Gowan Company's petition to delist the substance; Agricultural benefits of phosmet.